Valve for container washers



July 21, 1953 W. H. SOHN VALVE FOR CONTAINER WASHERS Filed Oct. 14. 1947 IN VEN TOR.

Patented July .2 1, 1953 "UNITED." STATES Armr-orrrcs VA LVE FOR CONTAINER WASHERS Walter H. Sohn, Rochester, N. Y.

Application October 14, 1947,,Scrial No. 779,752

' 4 Claims. (01. 251-8) clean because of the difiiculty of reaching and rubbing the inside side walls thereof.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved washing device which willefiectively and quickly wash containers of this type in a simple and practical manner, whichmay be easily and,

quickly attached to a'water pipe or faucet over a sink and left there, which requires no operation of the usual valve for each container, which is economical in its use of water, which has a long life and is free of service needs, and which is relatively simple, practical, efiicient and inexpensive. I

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the followingdescription of an embodiment of the invention, and the novel features will be particularly pointed'out hereinafter in the appended claims. l I

In the accompanying drawing: v I ,7

. Fig. l isa side elevation, partly in longitu dinal' section, of a washer constructed in ac cordancewith this invention, for attachment to a depending faucet discharge.

-Fig'. 2 is a view of part of the apparatusshow in Fig. l but'with the parts in a different o'perative relation, such as occupied during a washing operation;

' Fig. 3 is a side elevationof the same when the tube is unbent and is used on an'upstandin tube and which may be threaded upon an externally threaded faucet. An annular hose couin the bottom of the sleeve 3. When the sleeve 3 is secured over the end of a faucet, the tube I. will extend rigidly therefrom.

. tending towards seat 8.

, r I 2 I I 8' facing the free end of tube I and acting as a valve seat. A helical coil spring 9 is disposed in said passage 1 with one end abutting against the free end of tube I, and its other end ex- A ball I0 is also dis-'- posed in the passage I between seat 8 and the spring 9. A disc I I having a concave face receiving ball Ibis disposed in passage I between the ball and the adjacent end of the spring. A

pin-like projection l2 extends from the face of disc II oppositefrom the ball and enters the center of spring 9 at its adjacent end. The spring 9 is under compression and resiliently urges ball It against seat 3 to: close passage I.

A tubular pin I3 fits and slides in the outer end of passage 'I andits inner end abuts against ball It- The 'wall of pin I 3, adjacent its inner end, is provided with notches I4 thatserve as transverse passages. Pin I3 extends outwardly of sleeve 6 andthere is secured 'in'the passage I5 of an annular' disc or ring, I6, that in turn is secured in and closes the end of a shell or member I-I. 'The'shell'I'I telescopes over the free end of sleeveft andextends beyond both ends of sleeve '61 The end which is adjacent tube I is flanged or spun inwardly-as at I8, after being placed over sleeve 6, to engage behind the at- .tachedend'of-sleevet; The flange I8 limits out:

wardsliding ofishell I! to a distance somewhat beyond the position in which the attached pin I3 releasessaid ball, after the ball has seated. en-

gagement of disc or ring IS with the outer end ofsleeve 6 limits'movement of shell I? over sleeve 6 towardstube -I, to a position after ball Ill has been-unseated and transverse passages I 4 are exposed to fluid flow past seat 8. I w

Secured to opposite sides of theexterior of shell I! are aligned rodslil and these rods may be covered by sleeves 23 of rubber, natural or I substitute, or. any other suitable material. Rods I'9 may be welded orotherwise secured to shell I'LL When containers considerably deeper than the distance from rods '19 with sleeves '20 to the outer end of shell "I'Iare to be washed, tube I3 I pling' washer '4, such as, of rubber, is disposed The free end of the tube i is externally threaded as at 5, and over this threaded end 5 is threaded one end of asleeve '6. The passage I ofthe sleeve 6 has, intermediateof its ends; a shoulder preferably extehds beyond disc or ring It. to a position close tofthe bottom of the inverted container that is engagingwith rods I9, so as to deliver wash water close to the bottom of the container. Y

In assembling the. washer, the shell I! and pin I3 are as shown inFigs. 4 and. 5, and are telescoped over the sleeveffi as shown inFig. l,

and then the 'innerfi'end of shell I! is spun or otherwise turnedor flanged inwardly behind the inner end of sleeve 6, which locks shell I! from I is straight as shown in Fig. 3, so that shell l1 and pin l3 will be upstanding.

Looking at Fig. 2, it will be observed that when the ball In is away from its seat 8, the wall of passage 1 is downwardly divergent from a point at or above the horizontal diameter of the ball, to a point below the lower surface of the ball. This creates in the space between the ball surface and passage I, an annular passage for the flow of water which is converging until it is more than half way past the ball and then starts to diverge slightly and merges into a cylindrical space around the inner end of the tubular pin. This converging passage acts like the converging passage of. a nozzle and speeds up the flow of water. past the ball and provides ample clearance for an adequate quantity flow of water when the ball is unseated. When the tubular pin is raised to close the valve, the resulting constriction in the passage 1 into which the ball moves, will cause the water to force the ball towards its seat and center it thereon.

In use, with the washer assembled and connected to a faucet or pipe supplying water or other cleansing liquid under pressure, one inverts a container, such as a test tube, shown by dash lines T in Fig. 2, over the upstanding shell H and pin l3, with the open end or face of the tube or container pressing on sleeves 20 on rods l6. Depression of container T will move shell 41 and pin 13 downwardly which unseats ball 16 and allows water or cleansing liquid to pass seat 8,-

other matter, and continuously change all of the liquid in the inverted container. Upon lifting container T, the spring 9 will reseat ball I and shut oiT the water or washing liquid automatically.

The tube 9, passage 1 and pin 13 are, of course, open from end to end, except as passage 1 is closed by ball in.

It will be understood that various changes in the details, materials and arrangements of parts, which have been herein described and illustrated in order to explain the nature of the invention, may be made by those skilled in the art within the principle and scope of the invention, as expressed in the appended claims.

I claim: v

1. In a washer for containers such as laboratory test tubes, flasks, beakers and similar articles, of the type having a pipe connected to a source of washing liquid under pressure and a valve controlled discharge tube at its discharge end, that improvement in said valve and tube which comprises said pipe, a tubular sleeve having a pas sage endwise therethrough and a cylindrical exterior, and detachably coupled to the discharge end of said pipe to form an endwise extension thereof, said sleeve having a diameter larger than the outside diameter of the discharge end of said pipe to which it is coupled, a length of commercial, cylindrical, metallic tubing, uniform from end to end, fitting over and sliding on the outside peripheral surface of said sleeve, and of greater length than said sleeve so as to extend beyond both ends of the sleeve, the inner end of said length of tubing having an inwardly spun, peripheral flange encircling the'pipe for engagement with the end of said sleeve to limit outward sliding movement of the tubing on said sleeve, an annular plug fixed within the outer end of said tubing, and engageable with the outer end of said sleeve to limit sliding of the tubing in the opposite direction, a cylindrical tube extending through the passage of said plug in both directions, open at both ends, fixed to the'plug, and having its wall apertured close to its inner end, the passage of said sleeve, intermediate of its ends, having an annular, seat constriction facing the adjacent end of said'pipe, a ball within and movable along said sleeve passage in a direction between the pipe and seat, for movement int and out of engagement with said seat to control fluid flow through said sleeve passage, the inner end of said tube engaging and forcing said ball from said seat when the tubing is moved toward said pipe and releasing said ball to seat when the tubing is moved to its limit in the other direction, and an arm fixed to and extending sidewise from the exterior of said tubing, by which the tubing may be moved endwise to displace said ball from its seat.

2. In a washer for containers such as laboratory test tubes, flasks, beakers and the like, an improved valve comprising an upstanding tube, for supplying water under pressure and having an open free end, a tubular sleeve detachably coupled to and telescoping with the free end of said tube, so as to form an upstanding extension thereof, the passage of said sleeve being open at both ends and having, intermediate of its ends, a shoulder seat facing and spaced from said free end of said tube and forming a single, central passage therethrough, a coil spring having one end abutting said free end of said tube within said sleeve and extending towards said seat, a ball within said sleeve between said spring and seat, free to move along said sleeve with clearance, and

' resiliently urged against said. seat by said spring,

the inside wall of said sleeve at the side of said seat towards said tube being cylindrical in the area adjoining the seat, for a substantial distance from the seat, and then increasing in diameter towards said tube for a further distance from the seat and beyond the ball when the ball is fully unseated, a tubular shell telescoping over said sleeve and extending in both directions beyond the ends of said sleeve, a tubular'pin fixed to the outer end of said shell, extending within said shell towards said ball and having a transverse passage close to its inner end, said pin being open at its outer end, and its inner end, when said shell is moved endwise over said sleeve towards said tube, engaging said ball and unseating it before the outer end of said shell engages the outer end of said sleeve, and carrying said transverse passage beyond said seat as said ball is unseated, the inner end of said shell having an inturned portion engaging against that end of said sleeve which is attached to said tube and limiting outward sliding movement of said shell, and an arm on the exterior of said shell by which the shell may be moved towards said tube.

3. In a washer for containers such as laboratory test tubes, flasks, beakers, and-the like, an improved valve comprising an upstanding tube for supplying water under pressure andhaving an open free end, a tubular sleeve-with cylindrical periphery detachably coupled: to the free, upper end of said tube andforming an upstanding extension thereof, the passage of said sleeve being open from end to endand having intermediate of its ends a shoulder seat facing said tube, a ball- 1 like valve element engaging said seat, a coil spring therewith, said member telescoping and sliding on the sleeve and tubeand extending beyond both ends of the sleeve, and having an inwardly spun flange at its inner; end engaging against the inner end of the sleeve for limiting'outward movement of said pin to ajdistance beyond the position in which saidpin releases said valve 6 an open, free end, a sleeve screwed over the end of the tube and having a fully cylindrical periphery, the passage of said sleeve having between its ends an annular, imperforate seat facing the end of the tube, a valve element in said passage movable into and out of engagement with said seat, a tubular pin sliding in and closing the outer end of said passage open at both ends and extending outwardly beyond the sleeve, a cylindrical metal shell uniform in thickness from end to end, sliding and fitting over said sleeve upon the ends thereof, extending in both directions beyond the ends of the sleeve, and havingits inelement after said element has seated, the passage of said sleeve below said seat and in the portion into which said ball-like Valve element is member for engagement and operation by the open end of an inverted container, whereby when one. pushes down on said projection, said pin will unseat said valve element and water may pass upwardly through saidpin and be discharged as a stream. v e

4. An improved Valve comprising a tube having displaced when unseated by said tubular pin, being downwardly divergent along the lower halfof the valve element to provide between the lat- ,ter and said divergent passage, a converging water passage, and a lateral projection on said Number Name Date 391,173 McGahan Oct. 16, 1888 515,556 Smeallie 'Feb. 27, 1894 1,023,630 Elkins Q 1 Apr. 16, 1912 1,535,405 Ernst Apr. 28, 1925 1,607,727 Diersen Nov. 23, 1926 1,759,904 Kass May 27, 1930 1,813,982 Woodruff July 14, 1931 1,819,452 Wright Aug. '18, 1931' 1,944,739 Hunt Jan. 23, 1934 1,946,882 Russel Feb. 13, 1934 1,986,944 Schoene Jan. 8, 1935 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 211,862 Germany July 24, 1909 r 438,467 Great Britain of 1935 ner end turned inwardly to engage against the inner end. of said sleeve to limit outward movement of the shell, an annular plug fitting and closing the outer end of said shell with the tubular pin passing through and fixed to said plug so as to be an integral part thereof and extending in both directions therefrom, said shell having diametricallyaligned arms extending laterally from opposite sidesof the shell adjacent its inner end WALTER I-I, SOHN.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

